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EU politicians meet to discuss stable political framework for renewables

Members of Parliaments from the European Union met in the Hellenic Parliament on 23rd and 24th November to discuss stable political and regulatory frameworks needed to create growth in the renewable energy sector.

Such frameworks could be put in place by fully implementing various renewable energy and energy efficiency directives and this would help to create growth in the sector thereby stimulating job creation and energy security.

“It is obvious that there are numerous opportunities provided by renewable energy sources and energy efficiency in Greece and the broader Mediterranean area” said Anni Podimata, Vice-President of the European Forum for Renewable Energy Sources (EUFORES) and a Greek MEP. “Therefore investment decisions have to be wise, stable and promising. On the other hand, we, Members of the European Parliament and Members of national parliaments, have to work on the effective implementation of the renewable energy and energy efficiency directives in order to provide security of investment.”

EUFORES organises this high-level conference on renewable energy and energy efficiency every year in a different parliament in the European Union. For many Members of Parliament from all EU Member States, the Inter-Parliamentary Meeting has become an important platform for discussion where they can exchange their national practices and elaborate on planned policies.

Claude Turmes, MEP for Luxembourg, and EUFORES President, believes that “the policies of European governments play a crucial role as they shape the future energy mix. Retroactive measures in some European countries are very unsettling and undermine investor confidence. This crisis is a window of opportunity to set the right and stable frameworks and this holds true even more for Greece.”

Many parliaments from the EU were represented at this renewable energy focused conference where they contributed their long standing experiences.

“It is vital for a country to use its own resources - be it sun, wind, water or geothermal heat,” said Antonio Leitão Amaro, an MP from Portugal.

EUFORES is a European parliamentary network with members from all major political groups in the European Parliament as well as in the national parliaments of the EU. EUFORES' core objective is the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency in Europe.

“They represent stable energy sources not dependent on costly gas or uranium deliveries or environmentally disturbing mining” added Hans-Josef Fell from the German Green Party ‘Die Gruenen’. “What else if not renewable energy and energy efficiency shall be our main energy choice?”